sphenoid
Americanadjective
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being in the shape of a wedge; wedge-shaped.
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Anatomy. of or relating to the compound bone of the base of the skull, at the roof of the pharynx.
noun
adjective
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wedge-shaped
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of or relating to the sphenoid bone
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sphenoid
1725–35; < New Latin sphēnoīdēs < Greek sphēnoeidḗs. See sphen-, -oid
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I watched mine perform a complicated skull-based surgery — the removal of a sphenoid meningioma.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2022
The sphenoid has multiple openings for the passage of nerves and blood vessels, including the optic canal, superior orbital fissure, foramen rotundum, foramen ovale, and foramen spinosum.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
At the intersection of four bones is the pterion, a small, capital-H-shaped suture line region that unites the frontal bone, parietal bone, squamous portion of the temporal bone, and greater wing of the sphenoid bone.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
The greater wings of the sphenoid bone extend laterally to either side away from the sella turcica, where they form the anterior floor of the middle cranial fossa.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
Pterygoid, ter′i-goid, n. one of a pair of bones in the facial apparatus of some vertebrata behind the palatines, known in human anatomy as the pterygoid plates of the sphenoid bone.—adj. aliform or alate.—adj.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
